recipes and wisdom from a Midwestern kitchen

Creamy basil salad dressing.

I concocted this creamy basil salad dressing recipe to complement a salad with chicken, wild rice and other good things … but when I tasted the result, I immediately thought of about a zillion other uses for it. Its pretty pale green color conceals intense flavor (note: if you want to tame the intensity, use 1/2 a garlic clove instead of a whole one). Oh, and guess what: It’s low fat [shhhh … we won’t tell anyone.]

This basil-infused dressing is wonderful on a simple salad of butter lettuce and sliced avocado. It would also be fantastic in a French-style potato salad or a pasta salad filled with cherry tomatoes, zucchini and bell pepper. I’m also keen to try a dollop of basil dressing as a garnish for vegetable soup.

Transfer all ingredients to a tall jar and, using an immersion blender, pulse just to combine, then blend at a constant speed to create a smooth, creamy dressing that's evenly pale-green in color. (Alternately, place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and green.) Refrigerate for up to 1 week. The flavors will blend and intensify as the dressing sits, so feel free to go light on the garlic if you prefer.

Transfer all ingredients to a tall jar and, using an immersion blender, pulse just to combine, then blend at a constant speed to create a smooth, creamy dressing that's evenly pale-green in color. (Alternately, place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and green.) Refrigerate for up to 1 week. The flavors will blend and intensify as the dressing sits, so feel free to go light on the garlic if you prefer.